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Nectarine And Pomegranate Tarte

August 15, 2012

Back from Seattle after an amazing workshop and visit with dear friends. I love that the city is becoming like a second home away from home where I can visit and enjoy a great support system of friends and fellow photographers. There is always work associated with a trip to Seattle but it downright feels like a vacay-workathon for me. Yes, it's work chilling and sipping wine too you know...!

I have yet to go through all my pics from the workshop and our visit there. So much done and so much left to see! It was Bill's first time in Seattle and he absolutely loved it. The weather was a wonderful reprieve from our scorching hot days. A light breeze and 80F days felt like Spring and absolutely delicious.

We love hanging out with friends who love their city as much as we love ours. It was a treat to spend some time with Jeanne again. She gives the best hugs. Seriously. We were honored to have dinner at Sitka and Spruce with Anita and her husband who flew from San Francisco for the weekend. They never miss an opportunity to visit their old stomping grounds and I was thrilled to finally introduce them to Bill after all these years.

Once again... lots of good times, good wines, good sun, good talks and sunshine. I love how each workshop teaches me "more and better" as I like to say. More about myself so I can always work toward being a better person. Every trip, anywhere, I try not to sweat the small stuff and focus on the bigger picture. Sometimes it is just me and my work, others and the moment, sometimes it is our couple.

A constant work on improving. With taking stance and remaining silent. Much like this tart I want to share with you today. Everytime, with time and experience, it turns out a little bit better. A little bit stronger and definitely a keeper. Until the ext one...

Nectarines in South Carolina right now are as good as the best natural candy you can imagine. Juicy, fragrant. Wonderfully soft and simply at their best. I usually cut up about a pound worth and store it in the fridge so we can have a refreshing treat anytime we get a whiff of that hot humid air.

I got a bigger appetite than the number of days we would be home so I decided to use some of the nectarines I had (over) bought in a tart and take it to my in-laws who were dog(s) sitting for us. As well as watching over the fish. Always seem to forget mentioning Elliot.

I made a regular pie crust (not gluten free) but the mix I usually use (my friend Jeanne's) works perfectly well with this. I must tell you soon about this Brazil nut crust I tried on Clare and Becky last week though. I want to tweak it one more time first... Bear with me!

In the meantime, I am leaving you with this super simple, yet delicious Nectarine and Pomegranate Tarte. Yes. I know. Pomegranate are not in season in the US at the moment. See, I love pomegranate so much, that once Winter rolls around, I freeze enough pomegranate seeds to last us through Springs and Summer. We use them all the time in refreshing salads, as sprinkles on desserts and so forth. Here, they were in perfect tandem with the sweet ripe nectarines.

Directions:Place almonds and 1 tablespoon powdered sugar in a food processor. Pulse until the nuts are finely ground. In bowl of electric mixer fitted with paddle attachment, cream butter, ground nuts and salt on medium speed until well-combined. Slowly add remaining powdered sugar and flour and mix well. Add a couple of tablespoons of cold water to help the dough come together if necessary. Shape dough into a ball and flatten into a disc. Wrap with plastic wrap and refrigerate for two hours or overnight.Place the dough in between two sheets of plastic wrap or parchment paper and roll it out to about 1/4-inch thick round. Place in a 9-inch tart pan, trim the edges. Prick the dough with a fork and refrigerate 30 minutes up to 2 hours. (you can even freeze the dough in the tart pan at this point and let thaw in the fridge overnight when you are ready).

Once the dough is chilled, preheat the oven to 350F and position a rack in the middle shelf.Layer the nectarines in the shell, overlapping each other until the whole tarte area is covered. Drizzle with the honey and almonds.Bake for about 35 to 45 minutes until the tarte is golden.Remove from the heat and right before serving, sprinkle the top with the pomegranate seeds.

This looks awesome. I know that there is a shop where I can get pomegranate seeds out of season (and without the small work of removing them from the pithy fruit). I'll have to make this for our next gathering.

I am wondering... Did you sprinkle the tart with extra almonds before baking? It looks and sounds so Delicious, but looks as there are nuts on top with the pomegranate.I can't wait to try your crust too!!Thank you so much!

As soon as the season of pomegranates comes, I will freeze them. Every year I wonder how to use all of them, and I have just a few ideas. But when the season changes, I find myself craving for pomegranates. So this year I'll freeze them for sure.

I do understand how you feel about the learning process, I feel the same, attending workshops and meeting with people I admire. So also being on the other side is great, and it's so precious to have people like you willing to teach and share their experiences!

I look forward to every post you make. The food you create and the beautiful photos to match it is spectacular. This tart looks great and my farmers market has been selling nectarines so I'll have to get some this week!

Those Pomegranates look so attractive and sweet.They are the healthiest fruits one can put in their body. When i discovered that they are full of fiber, antioxidants and potassium, i decided to never miss a chance to stock them for my family. I freeze and keep in airtight containers for several months. By the way i would do anything to try your recipe. Thanks.

Made the tart yesterday evening. And although not in season, I couldn't resist to serve it with some pomegranate seeds (I actually never though about the possibility to freeze them, so thank you). It was fantastic! So delicate and full of flavor. And the pomegranate seeds were like little gems on top of it.